Cross-posted at Huffington Post.

Yesterday, millions of Americans voted in record numbers for a dramatic change our country's direction. After eight years of near-paralysis on the climate front, and in the midst of our biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, the election of Barack Obama and a host of new Members of Congress--many of whom support clean, renewable energy, green-collar jobs and caps on carbon emissions--gives us hope that we'll finally get the bold climate leadership we've been looking for in Washington.

But if this election is going to bring real change on the climate front, we'll have to hold our new leaders accountable (as we plan to do on November 18) for most of the promises they made on the campaign trail--and get them to drop some others.

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On Tuesday, November 18, volunteers will gather all over the country -- with help from 1Sky, the Energy Action Coalition and 350,org -- to welcome the President-elect and the new Congress by calling on them to make climate an immediate priority in 2009. Will you join them? Sign up today to deliver the message!

It’s a simple but powerful action: On November 18, you’ll gather with friends, family or other volunteers at the local offices of your new representatives to “welcome” them to the new Congress with a strong demand to make climate change a top priority in Washington. As part of the welcome, you’ll deliver a large greeting card representing the thousands of people in your state who voted on climate.

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Cross-posted at The Huffington Post.

Barack Obama and John McCain are ignoring the biggest news event in human history. They aren’t alone. Very few media outlets are reporting the news either.

On August 31, NASA released photos showing the North Pole has become an island for the first time in the past 125,000 years. (Please read that line again, look at the NASA image, and let it penetrate.) The summer ice cap at the Arctic is melting so fast that Dr. Mark Serreze, a sea ice specialist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado, said the Arctic may have entered a “death spiral” caused by global warming. For the first time in human history, the icecap no longer touches neighboring continents. But the presidential campaigns are nearly silent on the unprecedented threat of global warming.

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I don’t know about you, but the last few weeks have been hectic for me. From the Olympics, to Democratic and Republican National Conventions, not to mention getting ready for school—spare time is in high demand. But with the presidential debates on the horizon and the sprint to the finish in full swing, the time is ripe to tell Congress and the next President why climate matters.

Have you made your video yet? Have you submitted it? Well…what are you waiting for? There are only a few more weeks left before the end of the 1Sky and Brighter Planet Climate Matters Video Contest. But don’t worry. There is still plenty of time for you to get out and film your message before the September 22nd deadline -- submit your entry today!

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Then join the 1Sky team! We are currently hiring and looking to build our staff capacity in our central office, located in Takoma Park, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC.

Check out our job listings on our website: http://www.1sky.org/about/jobs

Full-Time Positions

Feel free to repost this note on your profile!

When you were 10-years-old, what were you doing? I know it may be harder for some of us to remember than others, but let me ask you another question. Did you consider yourself an organizer? For many us, our work as organizers did not begin until much later in life, but for Nikos Spiridakis it is already in full swing.

During a family road trip from Denver to Los Angeles when Nikos was 8 in the summer of 2007, Nikos experienced countless forest fires along the way--helping to open his eyes to the severity of global warming and the need for urgent action to tackle this climate crisis. Like many of us who care about this issue, the nagging question of “what can I do to stop global warming” lingered in his mind throughout the trip.

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Imagine if you had one minute in an elevator to tell our next President why climate change matters. What would you say?

1Sky and Brighter Planet are teaming up and we want you to film your message and upload it now to our new national video message competition -- Climate Matters: Inspire Your Next President! Winners will win cash prizes and their ads will be broadcast nationwide and delivered to the Presidential candidates and members of Congress.

Click here to visit the competition page on Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/climatematters

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